"Do you mean to say that you want me to give you an explanation? You've got it backwards."
Xiano sneered, "Shouldn't it be you who owes Junichi an explanation?!"
"Junichi…"
"Don't call my name!!!!"
Junichi's breathing was rapid, his eyes swollen and red, his teeth nearly grinding through his gums.
"So, you're the mastermind behind all this? You're the one who's been secretly controlling Asakura Island? Then what do these past five years I've lived through mean? What was that emotional act you just put on?!"
He looked around in despair at the corpses scattered on the ground.
"And this is just one day. In just one day, you've killed so many people. Over five years, a full five years, how many heinous things have you done? Why would you do this?!!"
Sakuraba Itsuki glanced at the bodies with an indifferent expression.
His cold, emotionless gaze then fell on Junichi as he spoke in a hollow voice, as if it came from the depths of a dry well.
"Do you remember what I once told you about your mother?"
"Mother?"
Junichi grew even more furious, roaring, "Why bring her up now? What right do you have to mention her? Didn't she die of illness ten years ago while traveling with you?!"
"Aya did pass away during that trip, but it wasn't from illness."
"Not long after the journey began, we passed through the Goa Kingdom. Two elegant noble ladies boarded the ship and quickly became close friends with Aya."
"They often held tea parties in the afternoon and sat on the deck at night, laughing, playing, and sharing everything."
"Aya had been with me through my struggles since my impoverished days. She had worked so hard for so many years. Except for the time when you were born, those were the happiest days I had ever seen her experience."
"Until one day…"
"The two noble ladies suddenly mentioned wanting to play football, but where would they find a ball on the ship?"
"Then, they suddenly changed their demeanor, flying into a rage, beating and scolding their own guards, even threatening to kill the captain and throw him into the sea to feed the fish."
"Aya couldn't bear it and stepped forward to intervene, saving the captain's life. She then went to the kitchen to borrow materials like pig bladders, intending to sew together a makeshift ball."
"After spending most of the night making the ball, Aya was happy because she thought this would prevent the noble ladies from taking their anger out on the guards."
"She went to deliver the ball early in the morning. I slept in a bit longer and went to find her later. Guess what I saw?"
Sakuraba Itsuki's face was expressionless.
As if he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him.
"Aya's head had been cut off. The two noble ladies were using her head as a ball, kicking it around in delight. The ball she had worked so hard to make all night was deemed too ugly, stomped on, and tossed aside."
Wh…what?! Junichi's pupils constricted as he staggered back two steps, his body trembling violently.
Xiano let out a long breath, remaining silent for a moment.
He had some guesses about the identities of those two noble ladies.
But he didn't interrupt, letting Sakuraba Itsuki continue speaking on his own.
In the vast, empty dojo, only that emotionless voice echoed:
"...At the time, I was stunned for a long time before finally snapping out of it. I drew my sword like a madman and charged forward, but suddenly, the captain stopped me."
"The swordsmanship I was so proud of was nothing but a joke in front of that guy. It didn't even last a few seconds before I was trampled underfoot."
"At the time, I truly couldn't understand it. It was only after a long and arduous investigation that I finally figured it out…"
"Those two young ladies weren't nobles from the Goa Kingdom at all. They were Celestial Dragons who had snuck away from their families to visit the Goa Kingdom! And the guard captain Aya saved? That was none other than the Naval Headquarters Vice Admiral, Steelers!"
"How laughable, how laughable… how laughable!!!"
Sakuraba Itsuki suddenly threw his head back and let out a maniacal laugh.
"Hahaha, Aya thought she had made two new friends, but she had no idea that in their eyes, she was nothing more than a stray cat or dog they decided to toy with on a whim."
"And that guy who knocked on our door the night before, expressing his gratitude for saving his life? The very next day, he personally cut off Aya's head!"
"And me? I was kicked into the sea like a dead dog, drifting for a month before I barely managed to survive!"
"No wonder you were so quiet for months after that trip…" Junichi muttered in agony, clutching his hair. "But after Mother's funeral, didn't you slowly start to move on?"
"Move on? I never moved on!"
Sakuraba sneered. "I only chose to escape and forget for the sake of raising you and the Martial Arts School I founded, continuing to play the role of the good chairman, the good father."
"The real Sakuraba Itsuki, the original Sakuraba Itsuki, drowned the moment he fell into the sea ten years ago!"
"I thought I could keep running away like this forever. After all, what could I do? Seek revenge? Against whom? The Celestial Dragons or the Naval Vice Admiral? I'm not even a Master Swordsman. How could I possibly have the ability?"
He grinned wryly.
"But fate just wouldn't let me bow my head like that!"
"Five years ago, during that shipwreck, I nearly drowned again while trying to save someone, but I survived. Not only that, I found a Devil Fruit among the wreckage that had drifted over from the merchant ship!"
"You probably know most of what happened after that."
Sakuraba finally turned his body around. The spot on his chest that had been pierced by the sword earlier was now covered in surging wood splinters, instantly repairing itself.
His expression gradually turned cold.
"Fate saved me twice and delivered the power of the Devil right to me. It was clearly encouraging me to embark on the path of revenge."
"So, I personally destroyed everything that belonged to Sakuraba Itsuki."
"The Martial Arts School, family, old friends… these things only made me reluctant to let go, to continue cowering on this small island, licking my wounds like a pitiful creature, too afraid to take the first step toward revenge!"
"As for the lives I've taken over these years?"
Sakuraba chuckled softly and shook his head.
"Don't worry, they didn't die in vain. They had value. Over the past five years, these Puppets have earned me over a billion Berries, finally giving me the capital I needed to seek my revenge."
"You're shameless! You… you… don't you feel even a shred of remorse or guilt?!"
Junichi's face was pale, his finger trembling as he pointed at Sakuraba. "You're insane! Completely insane! You've been a madman since five years ago!"
"Those two Celestial Dragons deserve to die! I also wish I could cut off their heads to avenge my mother! But did you have to do it this way?! Would mother want to see you do this? For the sake of revenge, you've killed so many innocent people. When you die, will your soul even have the face to meet her again?"
"Watch your tone, Junichi."
Sakuraba Itsuki's voice suddenly turned icy. "Five years ago, I was ready to kill you, but in the end, I softened and let you drift on the sea to fend for yourself, which was essentially saving your life."
"But you should never have returned to this island, especially when I was about to leave, and brought along a..."
"Meddlesome brat!"
As his words fell.
Hundreds of Puppet Strings suddenly flew out from the top of his head, dancing wildly under the light, transforming into countless dark yellow vines as thick as arms.
Sakuraba Itsuki's voice rang out again, mechanical and cold, like a Puppet, devoid of humanity:
"Things can happen once, even twice, but not a third time. Junichi, since you don't cherish the life I spared..."
"—Then you and this brat might as well become my Puppets!"
Whoosh!
In the sound of breaking air, the dark yellow vines shot forward, instantly surrounding Xiano and Junichi from all angles below.
Xiano stared at these thick, snake-like lines twisting wildly.
"Do you still have the strength to fight?" he suddenly asked, tilting his head. "If you don't want to fight him, I'll understand."
"...I, I..."
Junichi silently gazed at the figure on the Arena, suddenly wiped away his tears, and gritted his teeth:
"I don't want to run away, boss! My father, Sakuraba Itsuki, as he said himself, is already dead. What's on that stage now is just an evil spirit wearing his skin."
"He wants revenge? Then he'll have to wait until I've avenged my father first!"
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Xiano glanced at Junichi with slight surprise.
"Take this."
He directly pulled out the "Masamune" blade and tossed it over. "This ability is indeed troublesome. I'll deal with the main body, and you handle cutting off those vines."
Junichi instinctively caught it and stood back-to-back with Xiano.
Swish! Before he could even get used to the feel of the blade, several Puppet Strings attacked from the side.
He immediately raised the blade to block the first wave, then swiftly slashed from the side, severing the thick lines in an instant.
Such a fast blade... Junichi couldn't help but be shocked. Even Koushirou's Wado Ichimonji couldn't match this sharpness.
Xiano, meanwhile, had already looked up, squinting at the source of the Puppet Strings.
"Who said you could stay up there, playing tricks!"
He suddenly reached out with both hands, firmly grasping the nearest vines. His bulging biceps swelled like mountains as he poured his immense strength into them, yanking hard!
"Get down here!"
Crack, crack—the sound of the Arena's edge being torn apart echoed as Sakuraba Itsuki's withered body was instantly yanked off the ground.
What monstrous strength... Sakuraba Itsuki narrowed his eyes.
Although he had witnessed the Puppets being easily destroyed during his feigned death, experiencing it firsthand was entirely different.
But he was no inflexible Puppet.
With a surge of willpower, the soles of his feet creaked open like two small wooden doors.
Countless fine Puppet Strings shot out from within, piercing through the Martial Arts School's floor tiles and deeply embedding themselves into the ground, firmly anchoring Sakuraba Itsuki's body in mid-air.
No matter how intense the pulling force from below, it could no longer budge him even an inch.
Next, it should be... huh? Sakuraba Itsuki's expression suddenly changed. In his pupils, a shadow was rapidly growing larger, and in his peripheral vision, the spot where Xiano had been standing was now completely empty!
When... when did this happen?
Without time to think, Sakuraba Itsuki hurriedly activated his full Puppetization.
For those he controlled, this meant the complete destruction of their autonomous consciousness.
But for him, the ability user, transforming his entire body into a state of hard wood and layering it over his skin was the best defensive armor.
Thud!
Xiano grabbed onto the steel frame hanging from the ceiling, kicked off the supporting pillar behind him, and used this last bit of leverage to suddenly close the distance by several meters.
He finally appeared in the air to Sakuraba Itsuki's left, just as the Puppetization was completed.
"Got you!"
With a ferocious grin, he slammed his fist into Sakuraba Itsuki's left shoulder, the impact wave exploding in a circular pattern.
The hardened Puppetized body instantly caved in, revealing an empty chest cavity.
Splinters of wood flew past Xiano's muscular surface but couldn't penetrate, bouncing off and falling to the ground.
How... how could this be? Sakuraba Itsuki's pupils constricted.
He had tested his sword on his own torso countless times before. With his swordsmanship, he could only cut through the first layer of the hard wood shell, never reaching the inside.
Yet this kid had punched straight through with just one blow?
This is bad!
Even though he had tried to overestimate, this guy's strength far exceeded his expectations!
A rare sense of panic surged in his heart.
Before he could react, Xiano took the opportunity to firmly plant himself on Sakuraba Itsuki's body.
The boy's delicate face was now inches away, but the grin he wore seemed like a devil's to Sakuraba Itsuki.
"You might not know this, but your texture feels so much like the orange trees back in my hometown."
Xiano's grin stretched almost to his ears. "And unfortunately, during the farming off-season, my favorite pastime was beating up those orange trees."
Thud!
Before the words even finished, Xiano was already on top of Sakuraba Itsuki, delivering a rapid and heavy barrage of punches like a thunderstorm, targeting his chest.
He had practiced hundreds, even thousands of sets of Breathing Fist Techniques daily on tree trunks or wooden stakes. Over a year and a half, that amounted to hundreds of thousands of sets.
Sweat never goes to waste.
Now, with a target of nearly identical material, everything felt familiar.
Thud! Thud! Thud! One punch after another, the continuous dull thuds caused Sakuraba Itsuki's aura to visibly weaken at an alarming rate.
His consciousness was also fading.
No, I can't... I can't fall here!
Sakuraba Itsuki's life was supposed to be over!
I was supposed to take on a new identity, a new name, and carry out that long-planned revenge!
His right hand trembled slightly as he struggled, trying to control the Puppet Strings he had initially released from his head to counterattack, but there was no response.
What's going on now?!
Sakuraba Itsuki desperately shifted his gaze downward, and in the blurred periphery of his vision, he could faintly see—
On the ground below, Junichi, wielding a katana, was still swiftly slashing through the thick vines.
Taking advantage of the moment when his main body was restrained, Junichi had been hacking away for who knows how long. By now, he had nearly reduced all the Puppet Strings to fragments.
"One last punch!"
At the moment when a sense of despair surged within him, Xiano's low shout echoed in his ears.
Boom!
The surface of the hardwood body was already shattered, and with this final blow, it completely severed all connections with the Puppet Strings.
The unsupported body plummeted from a height of seven or eight meters, crashing heavily onto the ground and creating a massive crater.
Xiano stepped down from the opponent's knee with a creaking sound, then turned to look at the center of the web-like cracks.
—There, Sakuraba Itsuki's eyes were wide open, filled with unwillingness as he glared at the ceiling. His emaciated body lay motionless, devoid of any further signs of life.
(End of Chapter)